The Close Alternative Hearing Aid has been dreamed up to assist those who are hearing impaired. People who suffer from some degree of deafness are often extra sensitive to the vibrations that accompany noise, and this consideration is precisely what drove the design of this concept device.
The electronic bracelet does not actually have an aural component for its user to wear; the reception, conversion and expression of sounds is all done around one's wrist. Liang Wenshan, Zhengmu Fang and Liu Junming came up with a sleek band that could visually pass for a cutting-edge smartwatch. Microphones in the Close Alternative Hearing Aid pick up all sorts of auditory information and turn it into vibrations against the skin. Mimicking the same patterns of speech, this system offers a gentler way to bestow the often startling experience of amplified sound.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Wearable Hearing Aids
- Opportunity for disruptive innovation in developing hearing aids that can be worn as a fashionable accessory.
- Sensory Substitution Devices
- Opportunity to create devices that convert one type of sensory information into another, such as sound into vibrations.
- Smart Bracelets
- Opportunity to expand the functionality of wearable devices beyond fitness tracking and notifications by incorporating assistive technology.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Healthcare
- Could help transform and improve the hearing aid industry by making hearing aids more discreet, accessible and appealing to a wider audience.
- Consumer Electronics
- Hearing aids could become a new category of wearable devices for the tech-savvy consumer looking for innovative and useful gadgets.
- Accessibility
- Wearable hearing aids and sensory substitution devices could greatly improve the quality of life for people with hearing impairments and other sensory disabilities.
